


I Am Coming Home to You (If It's the Last Thing That I Do)

by graytheglowinggay



Series: The Android and the Engineer are in Love (DaForge Fics) [3]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Autistic Data, Established Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, Geordi is so brave, Hostage Situations, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I love the Mountain Goats ok?, I wrote this in a little over 48 hours and I'm not quite sure how, If You Squint - Freeform, Kidnapping, Life-Saving Sherlock References, Lore is an asshole, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, POV Alternating, POV Third Person, Picard is a good captain, Protective Data, Rated for perilous situations, Relationship Development, Sorry if anyone's OOC, Their Love Is So, and Lore generally being his own rating warning on his own, btw the two of them are sort of out?, there's a lot of POV changes, title from a song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 17:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10723989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graytheglowinggay/pseuds/graytheglowinggay
Summary: Lore decides to set up an experiment to learn more about his younger brother. One that involves holding hundreds of people hostage. And kidnapping Geordi La Forge.Lore, you have no idea what you got yourself into.Title from "Sax Rohmer #1" by the Mountain Goats, because I simply couldn't resist using that line.





	I Am Coming Home to You (If It's the Last Thing That I Do)

The first thing that Geordi noticed when he woke up in a pain-induced haze was that he could see. He was wearing his VISOR. He never did that. He always took it off before he went to sleep. Then the room came into focus and Geordi understood what was going on. He was tied to a table, like that which was used by medical doctors of old. Or executioners.

“Ah, so you’re awake.” a voice said, so like the one that belonged to the man that Geordi loved but wrong, alien. _Lore_ , Geordi thought.

“Why am I here?” Geordi asked, half-yelling. “What do you want with me, Lore?”

“It’s quite a lovely story, Geordi, but one I’m sure you already know.” Lore replied, walking towards where Geordi was tied up. As Lore said this, fragments of memories from what had happened came back to him.

* * *

  
It was an ordinary day on the bridge. Well, somewhat ordinary. The _Enterprise_ was on-route to resolve a hostage situation on one of the more recently established Federation colonies. Despite the dangerous nature of their mission, they weren’t due to arrive for another 50 hours, so Geordi felt relaxed. He just needed to try to figure out if they could push the warp engines faster, and if he couldn’t, it wasn’t a big deal. There were already several Federation vessels on their way to the colony, and the _Enterprise_ was mostly traveling to intimidate them. Once he finished his ship, he’d be able to do something with Data. Maybe they could try to solve another Sherlock mystery on the holodeck. Suddenly, a figure beamed aboard the _Enterprise_. Geordi immediately recognized him, though it was a face that he had hoped never to see again. He saw the fear in Data’s eyes as he pushed back his panel, ready to defeat his brother once and for all.

“I wouldn’t put up a fight if I were you, dear brother. You wouldn’t like what happens next.” Lore said with a smirk.

He strode over to where Geordi stood at his station. Geordi’s hands were balled into fists, ready to fight back with whatever he had. Lore frowned at him, and swiftly whipped out a phaser, and hit Geordi with the “stun” setting. The last thing that Geordi saw was Data’s glow before it all turned to black.

* * *

  
“Lore, what are you going to do to me?” Geordi asked, his jaw clenched.

“It all depends on what my dear brother decides to do,” Lore replied. “You know, Geordi, he fascinates me. So obviously inferior in design and ability, and yet he was our father’s favorite creation. To learn more about him, I decided to set up an experiment of sorts. As a prerequisite for the experiment, I needed to have a large group of people, about 100-300, that could serve as hostages. This colony was perfect for that purpose. Far enough out of the way that there wouldn’t be any Federation starships in the immediate area, yet important enough that it would catch the Enterprise’s attention. The next step was actually the easiest. Kidnapping you. You saw how well I was able to do it. You should have seen the look on my brother’s face. You are about to see the next step. Computer, open transmission with the USS _Enterprise_.”

It did not take long for the image of the _Enterprise_ to come on-screen.

“Lore, I demand that you return Geordi immediately,” Picard said, never the type to dance around the point.

“Don’t you want to learn the terms first?” Lore asked in a mocking tone. “As you may have already guessed, I am the one behind this hostage situation. I am willing to negotiate for the safe return of either the colonists or Commander La Forge. The other will die. Don’t worry, I have a humane method of execution planned for either party. Their deaths will be swift and painless. Another thing. Data is the one to make this decision. You may advise him, but the choice is his and his alone. I’ll know if you’ve broken this rule.”

“You are not in the position to negotiate, Lore!” Picard replied.

“I’m afraid I am, Captain Picard. You see, I have the hostages, and you do not. You have as long as it takes you to get here to decide. Also, you can’t cheat on that front. I know what speed your ship is at right now,” Lore explained. “One last thing, I have a message for my dear brother. Data, it’s the lives of hundreds or the life of one. I hope your perfect positronic brain hasn’t been so muddled by false emotions that you can’t make the right decision. End transmission.”

The image on the screen quickly disappeared.

“What kind of twisted experiment is this, Lore?” Geordi yelled.

“One that I’ve wanted to conduct for a long time, Commander. You see, my brother’s logic-based programming tells him that he should choose the solution that saves the most lives. If you were a total stranger, he would choose the colonists without hesitation. If his programming is perfect, you should also trigger the same outcome. You are one person, and they are hundreds. Why should you be any different? However, if his programming is faulty, if he isn’t as emotionless as he claims to be, his poor positronic computations will be all befuddled by this extra variable. You know, it took me a while to find the right person. At first, I thought that any crewmember that he was close to would suffice, but then I realized that any of you would be willing to sacrifice your lives in the line of duty. It wouldn’t be a hard decision. Oh, it might cause him some strife after the fact, but it wouldn’t yield any interesting results. You, on the other hand, are perfect for this. I still can’t believe that you fell for him. His programming doesn’t have any capacity for romantic feelings. Yet, somehow, he fell in love with you. You’ve become a flaw in his programming, Geordi. He can’t sacrifice you like any nameless crewmember, or even someone like Picard. You destroyed what made him perfect. I’m just testing to see how far that destruction goes.”

“You’re a monster, Lore,” Geordi replied.

“You can say what you want, but at least I’m not blinded by love. Or literally blinded, as you will be once I take off your VISOR right… now.”

* * *

  
“Well, what are we supposed to do, Captain?” Riker asked, running his hand through his hair nervously.

“I believe that you should be directing your question at Data, Number One,” Picard replied.

“I still don’t see why you’re going along with what he wants. Why should he tell us what to do?” Riker demanded.

“Data, what do you have to say about this?” Picard asked, turning towards his third-in-command.

“I do not know, sir. All of my programming tell me to select the option that saves the most lives, and yet I cannot. Geordi is… very close to me, sir. He is… well, he is my partner. I suppose that the best thing to say is that I love him. Losing him… is not an acceptable option for me.” Data replied, clearly agitated under his neutral exterior.

“Data, this isn’t supposed to be an easy decision. Lore is trying to cause you mental duress.” Troi said, putting her hand on Data’s shoulder.

“The thing is, I should not be experiencing these issues. I was programmed to be able to make the best decision in all situations. Why is it not enough? Geordi agreed, like we all did, to be willing to sacrifice his life in the line of duty. I- I cannot just let go of him like that.” He put his head in hands and hunched over. If he was a human, he might have started crying, but instead, he just started softly shaking.

For all of the experience that the senior crew had, they didn’t know what to do.

“I do not like how we are complying with the two choices that Lore has given us. Are there not other options that we refuse to consider?” Worf demanded, clearly just holding himself back from breaking something.

Hearing Worf’s statement, Data sat back up and lifted his face out of his hands. “Actually, I may be able to prepare an alternate solution, but it requires that we all are able to execute our parts perfectly.”

“Let’s hear it, Data,” Picard replied.

* * *

  
Now, more than ever, Geordi regretted how much he had come to rely on his VISOR. If he was smart, he would have worked more on honing his hearing so he would at least be able to, if not thrive, at least be able to scrape by without his vision. However, Geordi didn’t need to be a Betazoid to feel the smugness practically emanating off of Lore. He thought that he had finally stumped his brother, and no matter the outcome of his “experiment”, Lore would most likely be satisfied. Geordi honestly didn’t know how to feel about what he was a part of. He hoped that Data would be able to figure out some sort of solution that would let both parties survive. If he wasn’t, Geordi was ready and willing to sacrifice himself to let the colonists survive. The main thing that bugged him about that scenario is that he wouldn’t be able to see Data one last time before he died. There’d still be things that he couldn’t say to him. His beautiful, inhuman glow would be absent, out of Geordi’s reach now and forever.

“Incoming transmission.” declared the voice of the computer.

“Wonderful,” Lore said. Geordi heard a small beep that told him that Lore had opened the transmission. “Hello, brother. Have you made your decision?”

“Yes, I have. I have chosen to preserve the lives of the colonists over Commander La Forge.”

The words hit Geordi like a phaser blast to the gut. He knew that it would most likely be the decision that Data would make, but, damn, did it still hurt.

“Most interesting.” Lore replied.

“Brother, I have one last request. May I see Geordi?” Data asked, and just hearing his partner say his name, if only one more time, set Geordi’s heart aflutter.

There was a brief, contemplative silence before Lore replied, “Sure, I guess.”

Lore roughly uncoupled Geordi’s hands and feet from the restraints, and lead him over in front of the viewscreen.

“My love…” Data said, so quiet it was almost imperceptible. “Brother, where is his VISOR? Give it to him.”

Lore roughly shoved the VISOR into Geordi’s hands, and Geordi managed to steady himself for long enough to clip it on. Once he had gotten used to his vision again, he saw Data on the screen, beautiful and radiant, yet just out of reach.

“My love, I am sorry that it had to be this way. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one, after all.” Data said, and no amount of declarations of unemotionality could mask the pain and love in those words.

“Data, I understand. It’s what we all have to do.” Geordi replied. If Lore wasn’t holding his hands behind his back, Geordi would have reached out to touch the screen, to caress an image instead of the real thing.

“My dear Watson,” Data said, shifting into the carefully perfected English accent that he used whenever the two of them solved Holmesian mysteries in the holodeck, “it appears that this was a mystery we could not solve.”

“I love you, Data.”

“As do I, Geordi. Enterprise out.”

It wasn’t long after Lore roughly removed his VISOR that the tears started to fall.

* * *

  
“I’m surprised at how well you’re dealing with this, Geordi,” Lore said, his voice changing in a way that suggested to Geordi that he was walking around the table that Geordi had been strapped to once more. “It’s not every day that you’re sacrificed by the one you love.”

“His reasoning was sound. The lives of the colonists are worth more than mine.” Geordi replied, struggling to maintain a neutral expression and tone of voice.

“I’m proud of my brother for putting aside his irrational affection for his plaything long enough to make the correct decision.” Lore replied, his disdain for Geordi clear in his condescending tone.

“Plaything?” Despite his best efforts, a hint of rage crept into his voice.

“Why else would he keep you around for so long? You amuse him. I suppose that’s true of all humans, but the fact that you fell in love with an unfeeling android makes you entertaining beyond any measure. Soon, he’ll realize that he’s far better off without you weighing him down.”

“You only say that because you don’t know what love is.”

“Commander, I can assure you that I am well aware of what love is. It’s a quite unnecessary human invention that I have chosen to ignore and eliminate. Well, we’ve got a while until the Enterprise is due to arrive, and I have other things to do, so goodbye.”

The absence of light in the room felt like a heavy fog.

* * *

  
Data had not visited his quarters since Geordi had been taken. Not because he didn’t need to, but because it just felt _wrong_. Without his presence, the room was too large, unnecessarily cluttered for the quarters of an android. The absence of Geordi sat wrong in his chest, and Data was at a loss for what to do. It didn’t help that the crewmembers that were aware of the nature of his relationship with Geordi gave him sympathetic glances when they passed him in the hall, or that officers under his command insisted that they take on a portion of his duties, despite the fact that it would be far more efficient if he did them himself. _I cannot feel loss_ , Data kept telling himself, _I do not have emotions_. But as each hour passed, the hole in his chest grew larger and his list of excuses dwindled, until he curled up on their bed, hoping that Geordi would understand what he had tried to say.

* * *

  
_My dear Watson, it appears that this was a mystery we could not solve_. Those words felt peculiar to Geordi, and given that he was blind and alone in a dark room, he attempted to devote all his energy to trying to figure out why the sentence didn’t sit right with him. Geordi knew that it wasn’t the fact that Data had slipped into the Sherlock persona, or that he had referred to him as Watson. Geordi had quickly learned that when Data was nervous, he often took up the Sherlock persona, as it made him feel more confident. In fact, Geordi found it sweet that Data had paid homage to one of their shared past times. No, it was definitely the message itself that wasn’t right. What Data said was something that Sherlock would never say, and Data always went to painstaking lengths to ensure that everything that he said while in the Sherlock persona was something that the great detective himself would say. Sherlock would never give up on a mystery, let alone declare it unsolvable. So, there had to be a message behind those words. Sherlock would never give up on a mystery. Never let the criminal win. What was Data trying to say?

Sherlock (Data) would never give up on a mystery (a problem). Never let the criminal (Lore) win. Sherlock had solved the case, and Dr. Watson was just catching on to it.

“Holmes, you’ve done it again,” Geordi said.

* * *

  
“Wake up, Geordi. I want you to face your death with your eyes open.”

 _Well, he certainly knows how to wake a guy up_. Geordi thought. “I can’t exactly face Death if I can’t see him.”

“I suppose that there isn’t much harm in indulging a doomed man,” Lore said and handed Geordi's VISOR to him. Geordi quickly clipped his visor in and was greeted by a vision of Lore’s smug face a few inches away from his. “How do you feel about being a mere few hours away from your death?”

_You wish._

“Could be worse. At least I got to see Data again.” Geordi replied. To be fair, the second part was true. Getting to see Data, even in a transmission, was a welcome occurrence.

“Speaking of which, how do you feel about your--” he sighed and rolled his eyes, “ _boyfriend_ being the one to sentence you to death?”

“Data made the decision that was best for the most amount of people. I can’t get upset at him for that.”

“I’m surprised that a human such as yourself is responding to this situation so rationally. Maybe that’s what my brother saw in you.”

“There is a person present outside the door.” the voice of the computer interrupted.

For a moment, Lore looked actually taken aback by the computer’s statement, but he quickly covered it up with a smirk. “I wonder who that could be?” His attempt at sarcasm fell flat. “Open the door.”

As the automatic doors slid open, Geordi saw the person who he wanted to see more than anyone else, but he never thought he’d see again.

 _Data_.

* * *

  
“Brother, what are you doing here?” Lore said, attempting to hide the shock in his voice.

“I have changed my mind. I have chosen to save the life of Commander La Forge.” Data replied.

 _Wait, what?_ Geordi didn’t know what to expect from the hidden message he had deduced from Data’s final words to him, but it certainly wasn’t this.

“Dear brother, you never cease to surprise me. You may have your human back,” As he said this, Lore pressed a button that released Geordi’s restraints, and so he tumbled into Data’s arms. “Wait, I’m not done yet. You must see the cost of your decision. Computer, switch camera feed to Airlock 1.”

The screen turned on to display an empty room.

“Computer, what is going on? Is this the current feed?”

“Viewscreen is displaying current camera feed from Airlock 1.”

“Scan for lifeforms.”

“No lifeforms detected.”

After this exchange, it seemed to dawn on Lore what had actually happened. He whipped around to face Data, his face the perfect picture of rage.

“You… you tricked me!” Lore exclaimed.

“I suppose that is so, brother.” Data replied, calm as always.

“I didn’t think you had it in you. I guess I’ve been proven wrong. It doesn’t matter,” Lore pulled a phaser out of his belt. “Your human is still going to die.”

In an instant, Data shifted Geordi so he was only being supported by Data’s left arm wrapped around his waist, and he pulled a similar weapon out as well.

“Dear brother, you’ve lost your touch. Don’t you remember that phasers don’t work on us?” Lore chuckled.

“Then I suppose that it is fortunate that this is not a phaser.” Data replied, and fired.

The beam hit Lore right in the chest. He fell down, limp as a ragdoll.

“You killed him!” Geordi exclaimed.

“That would be incorrect. I merely paralyzed him.” Data replied.

“How?”

“I have been developing this weapon for a while. The phaser beam disrupts the electrical impulses in his body. He can not move a single body part. Unfortunately, he is still conscious, so we would do best to mind what we say.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing that I don’t have to say anything to do this.” Geordi pulled Data in for a kiss.

This, _this_ was what Geordi had almost lost. What he was grateful that he still had. Not just the physical intimacy that they shared, but other forms of intimacy too. How funny it was that the man who performed most of the technical checks on Data was the one who knew just how human the android could be.

Far too soon, Data reluctantly pulled his lips away from Geordi’s. “Love, as much as I appreciate this activity, I suspect that we need to, as you would say, ‘keep an eye’ on Lore.”

Geordi sighed. “I suppose that’s top priority. Once we get back to the _Enterprise_ …” He raised one eyebrow and smiled suggestively at his partner.

Data leaned in closer, so their noses were almost touching, and attempted to copy Geordi’s expression. He then whispered in Geordi’s ear, “Darling, you can count on it.”

Lore was still collapsed on the floor, but anyone could see the rage emanating from him. His eyes (the only part of his body that he could still move) were shooting daggers at Data and Geordi. It would have been comical if it weren’t for what they had to go through to get to that point.

Data tapped his combadge. “Data to Picard. I have located Commander La Forge and disabled Lore. I am sending our coordinates now. Please beam Lore directly to the brig. He is currently fully paralyzed, but if he threatens to cause trouble once he recovers, please let me know.”

“Good work, Data. Stand by to beam up.” Picard replied.

Once the two men had beamed aboard, they were greeted by an obviously relieved Picard.

“Commander Data, Commander La Forge, thank you for helping us solve this problem. We could not have done it without you.” Picard said.

“I thank you for this recognition, sir, but I am the reason why we were in this situation in the first place. Lore took those people hostage as part of an ‘experiment’. He wanted to see how I would react to it, and which decision I would make. He kidnapped Geordi because he knew how close we are. I was simply fixing a mess that I created.” Data replied, avoiding looking Picard directly in the eye.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Data. It’s not your fault that Lore is the way he is, and it certainly isn’t your fault that he decided to do all this. You acted admirably under pressure. Today, you made me proud to be your commanding officer.”

“Thank you, sir. Captain, provided that it does not cause any inconvenience for you or this ship, I would like to take a break and spend some time with Geordi before returning to regular duty. I can tell that this situation was not easy for him, and we both need to be able to process this together.”

“Of course. You two have gone through some intense circumstances recently, and I’d have ordered you to take a break if you hadn’t requested it. Get some rest, gentlemen. Enjoy each other’s company.” Picard replied, and if Geordi hadn’t known better he would’ve thought that Picard shot Data a knowing smile.

* * *

  
“Honey, get over here!” Geordi complained in an exaggeratedly frustrated tone. “The only cure to being nearly killed is an obscene amount of cuddling!”

“As much as I do wish to engage in this activity, there is something that I must say first.” Data replied. Given that there were very few things that were important enough for Data to delay cuddle time, Geordi sat up in a more attentive position.

“Geordi, this has been something that I have been seriously contemplating for approximately two months at this point. I have talked about it with Counselor Troi on multiple occasions, and I also asked Picard about it once. The events of the past 50 hours have pushed it to the forefront of my mind. I can confidently say that you are the best thing that has happened to me, and you being a part of my life has been the cause of so many wonderful things. I now want you to become a bigger part of my life; entwine our lives together even further, so that there is nothing in the galaxy that can break us apart. Geordi, will you marry me?”

Geordi’s jaw dropped open. “Wait, you’re asking me to marry you? You’re asking me to marry you? Like, _marry_ marry? I become your husband and you become my husband and we’re bound together by law until death do us part? Wait, I forgot to say yes, didn’t I?” Geordi had progressed from somewhat calm and collected to a blushing, blubbering mess in under a minute.

“I assume that your incoherent sentences are meant to be a yes?” Data replied.

“Yes, yes _yes_!” Geordi practically leapt out of the bed. “Data, we’re gonna get married!” Geordi half-ran, half-danced around the room for several moments before coming to a sudden stop.

“Wait, when are we going to get married? Naturally, I want us to be married as soon as possible, but we can’t just get married right this second. We gotta plan it. Assuming, of course, that we want to get married on the Enterprise, we’re going to need to go to Earth to pick up my family so they can attend. Have any of them even met you yet? Hell, I’m not sure if most of them even know that I’m dating anyone, let alone an android guy that works on the same starship that I do. Imagine the invitation. ‘Hello, you are cordially invited to the wedding of Geordi La Forge and an android that you didn’t know existed until now’. Besides that, we’re going to need to figure out the location, the menu, the theme, what we’re going to wear--”

Geordi’s rambling was stopped by a pair of android hands on his shoulders.

“Love, you do not need to consider all of this right away, let alone do it on your own. Planning a wedding is a job for at least two people.”

“Right as always, Data. Who are we gonna tell first?” Geordi replied.

“That can wait until tomorrow, love. Right now, I would like to take you up on your offer of ‘an obscene amount of cuddling’.”

The two of them were settled in bed, Data taking the position that he had programmed for “protective cuddling”: arms and legs wrapped around Geordi and resting his chin on the top of Geordi’s head. Based on the relaxing of Geordi’s muscles, Data could tell that his partner was already drifting off.

“I suppose I gotta call you my fiancé now,” Geordi mumbled, his voice muffled both by exhaustion and the fact that his face was nuzzled into Data’s chest.

“That would be correct,” Data replied, but the only reply that he got was the soft sound of Geordi’s breathing. “Good night, love.” There were so many things that had to be done that came with such a momentous change in their relationship, as the two of them transitioned into a new stage of life. Data knew that the best course of action for him was to get started on those tasks. However, right there, so inexorably tangled with the body and life of the being in the galaxy that Data cared about more than any other, there was only one thing that he wanted to do, so he did it. He placed one last kiss on the top of his fiancé’s head, closed his eyes, and initiated his dream program.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! This was my first TNG fic, as well as my first DaForge fic, and I hope that I did the characters justice. I'm only halfway through season three, so I hope that didn't get in the way of being able to write a good fic.


End file.
